Alcohol Triggers Heart Rhythm Condition.

• Position: ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

Testing possible triggers of a common heart condition, including caffeine, sleep deprivation, and sleeping on the left side, found that only alcohol use was consistently associated with more episodes of the heart arrhythmia, according to research from the University of California, San Francisco.

The researchers were surprised to find that although most of the things that participants thought would be related to their atrial fibrillation (AF) were not, those in the intervention group still experienced less arrhythmia than the people in a comparison group that was not self-monitoring.

Atrial fibrillation contributes to more than 150,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the death rate on the rise for more than 20 years.

Participants in the randomized clinical trial utilized a mobile electrocardiogram recording device along with a phone app to log potential triggers like drinking alcohol and caffeine, sleeping on the left side or not getting enough sleep, eating a large...